Another recommendation thread.

[alydis]

I'm looking to buy my first EU.

I am only interested in commuting to/from work.  I need to be able to ride about 5 miles to a rail station and then another 2 miles to work... so about 14 miles total.  Another option for me is to drive the first 5 miles and leave my car at the rail station.  This would cut my commute down to 4 miles/day.  Alternatively, I can bring an extra charger to work.

I haven't explored the terrain, but it should be all pavement.  Some of the pavement may be pretty shitty, and there are plenty of curbs and intersections to deal with.

I don't care much for speed (other than to cut down the length of commute).  I am not a thrill seeker.  Safety and comfort are my primary concerns.

I need to be able to bring it onto the rail.  Ideally, it should fit under a seat.

I think I probably prefer tilt-back for power/speed warnings rather than audible alerts.

I think a 14" tire is probably more suitable for my needs.

It is very important to have headlights/tail-lights/reflectors as it is often dark by the time I leave work.  If there is an aftermarket solution, that would be fine too.

I have virtually no experience riding skateboards, rollerblading, bikes, etc.

I will be wearing a backpack my with laptop.  Sometimes I will be carrying an umbrella.

Price is not a concern.  More emphasis on value.

I am leaning towards the following models and would appreciate any comments/recommendations.

• KingSong 14
• Inmotion V3s
• IPS Zero
• Ninebot E+

[Tree Camper]

I am happy with my Ninebot E+. I think your commute would be achievable with this model. This of course depends on your weight and any hills to contend with. 

The NB1 handles rough terrain well so the pavement should not be a problem. You will need to practice and get very familiar with the wheel before you venture out into a busy footpath or intersections. Practice stopping and starting, eg getting on and off. You can purchase very cheap bicycle lights to stick on your bot and person.

I regularly wear a backpack while riding so no problem there, you may as well chuck in the recharger too its not heavy and you can top up at work.

I would sincerely recommend Knee,elbow and especially wrist protectors especially in your early days, I paid £8 amazon best money I have ever spent.

NB1 is just over 14kgs

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Jag_Rip]

Can agree with @Tree Camper I use my E+ mostly for commuting to work. I got a 5km commute, so 10km per day. I top up nightly although I could go 2 days without charging.

I wear a backpack with my laptop and other necessities as well, so no issue there.

The Umbrella Trick doesnt work all too good by the way. If you are riding with speed you dont want the umbrella to get a mind of its own and pulling you off the wheel especially when you ride on the road next to traffic. I use a Rainjacket and waterproof pants for those days.

I got a pair of taillights mounted on the handle and a flashlight on my head, as well as some reflectors on the bot itself.

I chose Ninebot over other manufacturers because I got a servicepoint very close by that should be able to supply me with most of the spareparts. I didnt want to order from china and then wait for 3 weeks to get any replacement part. I need the wheel to be up and running again within a week if it ever breaks down.

There is a Trolleyhandle accessory that I'd recommend getting if you need to cross large areas where you are not allowed to ride it (e.g. trainstations) Another personal recommendation (other users might disagree), dont get the training wheels, they are overpriced and not useful beyond the first 10 minutes. Invest this money in shinguards  wristguards and some good beer to treat your training sucess.

[Citi Wheel]

I'm looking to buy my first EU.

I am only interested in commuting to/from work.  I need to be able to ride about 5 miles to a rail station and then another 2 miles to work... so about 14 miles total.  Another option for me is to drive the first 5 miles and leave my car at the rail station.  This would cut my commute down to 4 miles/day.  Alternatively, I can bring an extra charger to work.

I haven't explored the terrain, but it should be all pavement.  Some of the pavement may be pretty shitty, and there are plenty of curbs and intersections to deal with.

I don't care much for speed (other than to cut down the length of commute).  I am not a thrill seeker.  Safety and comfort are my primary concerns.

I need to be able to bring it onto the rail.  Ideally, it should fit under a seat.

I think I probably prefer tilt-back for power/speed warnings rather than audible alerts.

I think a 14" tire is probably more suitable for my needs.

It is very important to have headlights/tail-lights/reflectors as it is often dark by the time I leave work.  If there is an aftermarket solution, that would be fine too.

I have virtually no experience riding skateboards, rollerblading, bikes, etc.

I will be wearing a backpack my with laptop.  Sometimes I will be carrying an umbrella.

Price is not a concern.  More emphasis on value.

I am leaning towards the following models and would appreciate any comments/recommendations.

• KingSong 14
• Inmotion V3s
• IPS Zero
• Ninebot E+

I take the ninebot in the subway and it's stores very well. I had a 14" generic prior to the ninebot and I used both for commuting. I would recommend a 16" over a 14" wheel because if you are on a bumpy road, hit an unexpected small pothole or want to go over small curbs, the 16" is preferred. I also like the ninebot design bc it allows you to easily jump onto 4" curbs and if you really pull on the unit 6 to 7 inch jumps.

[alydis]

I take the ninebot in the subway and it's stores very well. I had a 14" generic prior to the ninebot and I used both for commuting. I would recommend a 16" over a 14" wheel because if you are on a bumpy road, hit an unexpected small pothole or want to go over small curbs, the 16" is preferred. I also like the ninebot design bc it allows you to easily jump onto 4" curbs and if you really pull on the unit 6 to 7 inch jumps.

I had thought the 14" is better for commuting city streets due to its agility?  I assume that, altough bumpier, the 14" can handle potholes, cracks in the pavement, and curbs better.  Is this not the case?

[Citi Wheel]

I had thought the 14" is better for commuting city streets due to its agility?  I assume that, altough bumpier, the 14" can handle potholes, cracks in the pavement, and curbs better.  Is this not the case?

the 14" is more agile but unless you plan on doing very tight slaloms on you're commute to work the 16" is plenty agile. The little you lose in agility though, you gain a lot going from 14" to 16" with wheel stability at higher and lower speeds on uneven surfaces. 

[Mono]

I had thought the 14" is better for commuting city streets due to its agility?  I assume that, altough bumpier, the 14" can handle potholes, cracks in the pavement, and curbs better.  Is this not the case?

It is not. The larger the wheel, the better it can "handle" potholes, cracks, curbs, that is, the less bumpy it is... To intuitively understand why this is so, imagine a large pothole of 3", or a curb of 3", and imagine to drive over/up it with a skateboard wheel of 2" vs a unicycle wheel of 14" vs a bicycle wheel of 26". In the relevant range, the effect is roughly linear: Handling a crack of 1.4" with a 14" wheel should be similar to handling a crack of 1.6" with a 16" wheel.  

Comfort is probably mainly related to tire width, but I don't think there exists a list of tires used for various unicycles. It seems to be a topic of little interest for most.

[Hank]

Comfort is probably mainly related to tire width, but I don't think there exists a list of tires used for various unicycles. It seems to be a topic of little interest for most.

Very true - I haven't noticed many threads on tire tread pattern, width, air pressure, etc.  All of these affect rolling resistance and therefore efficiency, comfort, etc.

Of course the soother/harder/thinner the tire, the less rolling resistance, but of course depending on use, road surface, and level of comfort sought all come into play.

Are the tires for EUCs standard bicycle tires that are generally readily available at bike shops or on-line?

[Jag_Rip]

I think the market is still too young to care about these special purpose users and have a niche model ready. Most users right now play around with their tire pressure and are good. Some extreme cases of user modifications involve spikes and treaded tires already so I guess there will be a market soon. 
You can see some experiments going on with other tires but right now bicycle tires are used. Most of the manufacturers use chinese tires in standard sizes. But a lot of them are using tubes with a bent valve, so you wont get those in regular bike shops. Online you will find hundreds of them, at massively different prices. I've seen tubes for my ninebot being sold between 6.50 and 20 Dollars a piece! And thats not counting the ones from china, but from official resellers in my and neighbouring countries.

[Kevin]

After trying the 14" KS 500W against my 16" IPS Lhotz, I can offer the following comparisons:

Cracks & Bumps - I did not notice a major difference in ability to handle cracks and bumps in the sidewalk (some, but not enough that I really cared). As has been mentioned above, 16" is better for this than 14".

Portability - There was a VERY noticeable difference in portability. To put this in perspective, the Lhotz is 2" bigger than the KS in the wheel alone, and then the wheel cover extends an extra 1" in either direction so it's a total of nearly 4" longer than the KS. When I bring it places, this really sticks out. In addition the KS is lighter by several pounds and has its weight centered in a place that makes it easier to carry/handle. That said, I believe the Ninebot is more compact than the Lhotz (and certainly has a more sleek design) so maybe that is less of a concern.

Ride stiffness - I have read some threads stating that the Ninebot offers a much 'stiffer' ride than the King Song. This is generally seen as desirable and may improve your comfort. The IPS Lhotz also offers a stiff ride, so conceivably the IPS Zero would be also good in this regard.

Agility - 16" is generally fine, but if you find that you will be needing to weave between heavy pedestrian traffic you may find a 14" more suitable.

I would recommend bringing your charger with you to work in your backpack.

[Mono]

On 10/19/2015 at 10:35 PM, Hank said:

Very true - I haven't noticed many threads on tire tread pattern, width, air pressure, etc.  All of these affect rolling resistance and therefore efficiency, comfort, etc.

Of course the soother/harder/thinner the tire, the less rolling resistance, [...]

A thinner tire (thinner in terms of tire dimension) has, surprisingly, a higher rolling resistance. A thicker tire has less rolling resistance, because it tends to undergo less deformation (of course given the same air pressure). For the same reason larger wheels have a smaller rolling resistance. The reason why thin tires are used on "fast" bicycles is weight and air resistance, not rolling resistance. 

[castShadow]

I would test ride them if possible.  Personally if I am commuting I want a trolley handle - if for any reason you need to step off or walk for any section a long handle is good so that you don't have to stoop down or pick up the heavy wheel.  I was riding in some area one time next to a busy street and the sidewalk just ended for a big gap - it was like an odd dirt driveway and a maintenance(?) truck was parked blocking the way.  To traverse this I'd suggest walking the wheel using the trolley handle instead of riding into traffic or jumping into the gap partially blocked by a truck.  I was just goofing around that time so I actually rode around the block instead.

The best choice might depend on your riding skill - but if you commute you'd probably get really good over time.

Another example, I'm at a corner waiting for a red light and there are 5 pedestrians waiting on my side and more than that count on the other side also waiting to cross the corner.  The driveway to get on the other side is not wide enough and there are cars also turning as soon as pedestrians are clear of the street.  Instead of fighting with pedestrians for that ramp access, I just get off and walk the wheel.  Once clear get back on and ride.

Which would I use?  I have more than two eu's so I would actually try them all.  = )  I would definitely try the Inmotion and also a small light one for portability.  Are there any stairs?  Do you have to sneak it past any guards inside?  If you could carry it easily when needed you can go anywhere.  For real portability I'd take my Gotway MTen.  I have no problem riding it for miles.  (Okay I will ride it 10 miles tomorrow after work just to make sure).

[dmethvin]

I agree with @castShadow that a trolley handle would be a really nice accessory. I don't have one for my 16-inch Firewheel and at times I find myself bending down to roll it for a short distance rather than turn it off, pick it up, lug it, turn it back on, and wait for it to start. I also do the "hop on one leg, roll the wheel with the other" pose at times, but nobody looks cool doing that either.  

[castShadow]

Heh-he  @dmethvin  

 

Okay I rode my MTen after work - and wow, yeah, I really like it.  It is so maneuverable.  I haven't ridden it in a while so I start off cautiously and slowly for a while.  Also I didn't have a full charge, just half and so I had to pay attention not to ride too far.  I rode nearly 3 miles one way, then the 3 miles back and still had maybe 1.2 of the charge lights left out of 6 lights.  So I rode it around and around for a while longer - in total I was on the MTen for at least an hour.  My right foot was hurting and going numb but left foot was okay.  That was equivalent ride time for the one-way commute and to me it was not a problem at all.  Mostly I rode at speeds below the warning beep sound but that is still twice the speed of walking and really, faster than jogging.

Although not on the original list of wheels on this thread, I just wanted to check for myself that I would commute with the Gotway MTen and yeah, I would.